Staying in the high school mindset will ruin your college experience

In high school we were all split up into different categories based on who we knew, what we did, and what we liked. Everyone occupied their own place, and some people believed they were better because of who they were or what they liked.

We limited and convinced ourselves to “like” certain things because we wanted to fit in. We hid the best parts of ourselves for the sake of being cool. Keeping this mindset will ruin your college experience.

On a campus of 60k+ people, “cliques” blur together

I’ve heard the phrase “high school is the best four years of your life” one too many times—and that’s a lie. In high school we were all too worried about what people thought to form our own opinions and embrace all of the quirks we were too ashamed to showcase.

College is the time where “cliques” don’t exist like they did when we were younger. People are often separated into groups based on what their major is, what student organizations they’re a member of, or whether or not they’re a student athlete. These are all ways that students define their identity, but they don’t exclusively assign themselves to one role.

I am an English major, I studied abroad, I write for The Tab, and I joined a sorority. By the time I graduate I hope to have added a few more things to that list, but I’ve learned not to limit myself. One night I might be sitting at home reading Jane Austen and the next night I might be getting drunk in a pub with friends.

The biggest mistake you can make when you transition to college is sticking to the mindset that one aspect of who you are is all that defines you. People no longer fit neatly into categories, and they don’t give a shit about it either.

You’re not growing if you’re not changing

Beneath the surface it seems that a lot of people are worried they’ll lose their sense of self if they change too much. The reality is that the one constant in life is change, and if you don’t embrace it then it’s still going to happen anyway. A lot of people go into college certain of what they want to do later in their lives. Some of those same people will get through a semester or a year and decide that they want to change majors. That’s okay.

You’re going to lose touch with some of your best friends from high school. They’re going to go to colleges in different cities or states and build their own lives complete with new friends and new interests. Don’t resist the change. So few people know who they are and what they want to do when they’re 18—we all think we’re invincible or that we know what’s best. Sometimes even the people  and the things we love can hold us back in ways that we don’t understand.

Everyone could use a big slice of humble pie

No one is going to care if you scored the game winning touchdown in the state championship or if you were the valedictorian of your class. It sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. You are not the only person with great accomplishments from high school. When you go from a school of 1,000 people or less to a campus of over 60,000 it’s going to feel like you have something to prove.

You can’t hold on to your past accomplishments with a death grip. They may have gotten you to where you are today, but leave the past in the past. Focus on new accomplishments and the legacy you want to leave behind. Kudos to you for getting the “Best Personality” senior superlative, but that’s not enough to set you apart in college. To get the most out of your experience you have to humble yourself a little bit.

When college begins we all have to work our way back up from the bottom to the top. It’s your choice whether or not to stick to the mindset that one thing should define who you are as a person. If you make the right choice you’ll realize how empowering it is to 100% own who you are and just do you.